Friday, July 15, 2011

João Bosco & NDR Big Band

JOÃO BOSCO – SENHORAS DO AMAZONAS

(REVISITING...) by Claudio Botelho

This CD has been reviewed in these pages before, by our dear friend and Brazilian music guru Leandro Lage Rocha. Although a laudable review – a very commendable one, in fact -, his efforts to communicate the excellence of that work, in my view, failed a bit: he was economical in his words; perhaps, by the time he was evaluating this job, who knows, he was, at the same time, indulging in other works or even in front of something even better… About this, I must be cautious, as that man knows every and each good music that was produced in this country for the last 80 years or so! Thus, he could really be, in that moment, in from of something even better!But, for the rest of us, Senhoras do Amazonas is an awfully damn good work. It displays one of the best jazz singers around, together with one of the most tuneful orchestras ever assembled. The compositions are either from Bosco himself or Tom Jobim. No complaints here…The band (NDR Big Band) has everything a band should have and none It shouldn’t: never aggressive, superbly arranged by the late Steve Gray (who died tragically before listening his finished product) and, most of all, perfectly complementary to the other orchestra: that one named João Bosco who, along with his acoustic guitar, can be much more than a man and a musical instrument.The ten songs rendered are presented as every CD should and, for me, in a kind of “golden rule” which alternates fast and slow tempo musics: larghissimo always before a prestissimo, and so it goes… The total time follows another golden: less than sixty minutes, which makes it a breeze to listen. In no time, it ends and you find yourself get begging for more…I, who generally prefer slow and medium tempo, would choose “Bodas de Prata”, “Desafinado” and “Angela” as the pièce-of-résistence of the CD, but you could, as well, choose any other. I wouldn’t dare say which music is better, such is the solidity of this brilliant work which does full justice to the excellence of the orchestra, his arranger and that man named João Bosco who, besides being one great composer, is an orchestra himself and more: one of the best jazz singers I know. All told, the best CD I’ve heard so far in this year. He deserves from me all the praises in the world. Long life for you, Mr. Bosco!